Porter’s New Website
After several months of work, the web team has launched Porter’s new website! Our new site is better arranged, easier to navigate and full of useful information. Visit the site and sign up for membership. As a member you can keep track of old purchases and place reorders easily, you can rate products and share your views, even create wish lists that can be shared with family or friends.
Porter’s new site is an attempt to bring our store’s attention to customer service and photo knowledge to the web. When a camera is viewed online all of the necessary parts such as memory cards, batteries, bags etc. are positioned right below the camera. You’ll know what you need without having to dig around for the information – it’s right there front and center.
Porter’s live chat is available during business hours, just ask a question and get an answer. We’re right there to help make it easy finding the right products to match your needs. Just because you’re online doesn’t mean that you don’t get customer service!
The new website will continue to grow, change and improve. In the coming months look for enhancements such as product videos shot by our store staff, more information in our Education Station, even online learning opportunities.
So stop by Porter’s website at www.porters.com and take a look. Poke around and stay for a while. Let us know what you think, too!
Shooting Indoor Sports
Now that the weather has cooled off it’s a good time to review some tips for better indoor sports pictures.
Many sports parents have compact digital cameras or super zoom bridge cameras. Another group may have consumer DLSR’s. But the one thing they all share is a thirst for light. Most consumer cameras come with lenses that are more than adequate for standard picture taking. However shooting indoor sports is not standard by any means.
There are two key problems when shooting in a gym. First, though a gym may seem brightly lit to our eyes it’s actually quite dim to a camera. The second problem is distance, we have to sit at some distance to the action so our zoom lenses get a lot of exercise. Unfortunately this is where indoor sports hits it’s biggest photographic snag. We start out in light that is barely enough for the camera to operate and then we zoom the lenses out reducing the light even further.
The best way to handle this is to fool the camera. This trick works on most compacts and all DSLR’s. The first thing to do is set the ISO (film speed) up to about 400. This will help increase the camera’s sensitivity making the most of the light that’s available.
The next step is to set the camera in Av or Aperture exposure mode. This is the mode that controls aperture settings and we want the widest the lens allows. Remember, this is the smallest number on the aperture scale often around 3.5. By doing this we are telling the camera to always use the widest, most open aperture setting. The camera must respond by selecting the fastest shutter speed that the lighting will allow in order to make an exposure. By using faster shutter speeds we have the best chance to stop action blur.
The last thing to do is to turn off the flash. A built-in flash has a range of only 10 feet, it’s not doing any good and the flash slows down the camera as it recharges after each shot.
Some words of warning: Not every camera has an Aperture exposure mode. Many of this year’s ultra compacts are an example.Next, by using the setting described there is no guarantee that your images will be successful, each gym’s lighting is different. The photographer may be able to use a lower ISO or be forced to accept grainy pictures and use a higher ISO.
A pro photographer with a thousand dollar lens standing court side expects about a 35% to 40% success rate, with our consumer cameras and equipment hitting 20% to 25% success is considered very good. The best tip is to over shoot; the success rate doesn’t increase but the number of successful shots will.
As a next step, learn about capturing moving subjects at the peak of action to help prevent even more motion blur.
Holiday Greeting Cards
Usually seasonal articles like this begin “It’s that time of year again!” But I won’t do that to you. I think that everyone is aware that Thanksgiving is two weeks away. You were aware of that, right? Plus Christmas is just 28 days after Thanksgiving… Maybe it’s just about time to consider thinking about possibly discussing the option of making some Holiday cards. We wouldn’t want to rush into it after all!
Why is there so much procrastination about making Holiday photo greeting cards? Inspiration is most often the answer to that question. Most folks draw a complete blank when it comes to thinking of ways to pose their family. It’s a normal reaction and it’s nothing that should cause worry or scare anyone off from making personalized cards. Believe it or not, the people you will be sending your card to don’t really care, they are just happy to see your smiling faces.
But some tips on selecting or capturing the image for your Holiday card might help:
Biggest tip – Sorry, but you can’t scan a family portrait taken by someone else and use it for your card without written permission from the photographer. It’s illegal and you can be sued for thousands of dollars. The explanation is lengthy and if you want to read more about it, click on the “Copyright” tag on the right side of our sister blog page found HERE.
Tip #1: Before we talk about posing ideas, look through the pictures that have already taken this year. Is there a picture in the group that would make a great card? Use it!
Tip #2: Select the location before worrying about posing. If you live in an area with leaves still on the trees, find a nice location in the open shade for your shot. This will help prevent squinty eyes. Also, leave your camera in P for program mode and turn on the camera flash. No leaves, no problem. Pick a cloudy day for the same benefit.
Tip #3: Decide who will be in the shot. The whole family and all three dogs (good luck, because the best trained animals lose all control in front of a camera), just the kids, whatever you choose stick to your plan. It’s OK to choose two different group options and to try to shoot both: kids only, and parents and kids.
Tip #4: Be prepared. Have a tripod so the family photographer can get in the shot. Know how to use the self timer on the camera or use an inexpensive remote. Before going out with the whole clan, practice on your own. Setup your gear, set the camera exposure mode and self timer, trip the shutter and practice getting into the picture.
Tip #5: Posing the group. Look at cards you have received over the years for some good ideas and Google “family portraits” too. Don’t be overly ambitious if you aren’t used to posing groups, keep it simple. Keep your group posed close together so that you may crop the image down to show all the faces. Full body portraits are great, but it’s the faces people want to see not your shoes.
Tip #6: If the group to be shot must be arranged in rows, try to keep the depth from the front person’s nose to the back person’s ear at about 3 feet. Too much space between rows will cause one or more rows to be out of focus.
Tip #7: Manage around everyone’s attention span. Setting up and taking three or four shots of a group portrait shouldn’t take longer than five or ten minutes per pose – tops. Your family wants to cooperate but everyone will look glassy eyed and bored in the pictures if it takes too long. If you are dealing with small children, build a little play-break time into the itinerary.
After capturing the perfect image, decide on the text message for the card. Most 4X8 photo cards will provide space for up to 18 characters and spaces per line and they have only three lines. Have a few options for the text message ready to go before sitting down at the kiosk or your computer to create the card. Keep it simple, this is more a title than a message. “Season’s Greetings from the Smith’s”. Sometimes the greeting card template already has a sentiment in its design so all you may need is “The Smith’s. Christmas 2009”
The good news is that printing Holiday photo cards is fast – usually as fast as one hour per hundred in any size. You may not be able to return and pickup your card order as fast as it will be produced; but asks for the envelopes when you place the order so you may begin printing addresses while you wait on the cards.
Greeting card options aren’t limited to 4X8 flat cards. There are also 4X6 and 5X7 flat cards plus there are folded cards printed on quality paper stock. In fact, in all dimensions and sizes there are over 75 different design templates available – twice that when you consider vertical and horizontal orientations!
Making a personalized photo greeting card for the Holidays can be a fun and creative project. Mailing them to friends and family really does brighten the Holidays for others. And consider this, the average Hallmark greeting card sells for $3.50 while the most expensive photo greeting card from Porter’s sells for $1.59. Photo greeting cards are fun, creative and cheaper! Take a look, this year’s designs are colorful and contemporary. We think you will quickly find just the perfect design!
Coming Soon, An All New Website!
Just like any growing business, eventually you outgrow your digs. That’s what has happened to us at www.porters.com. Our current web platform has become too restrictive and it just can’t keep up with the speed of change in our industry, so we’re building a new home from scratch.
Our goal (crossing all fingers) is to release the new site within 10 days to two weeks. Today that looks very achievable, but who knows what surprises we may find in the last week of testing.
The complete website upgrade will take place over several months and phases. Right now, we want to have basic shopping functions online for the Holiday season. Then, over the next few months we will add much more content, features and interactivity.
As you may imagine, custom building anything requires time, good support and clear direction. The website design group we hired (Gorilla Chicago) has been top-notch, taking our core ideas and creating a whole new web experience for us. Right now we are in testing and working the bugs out, but this new site is already better than I could have hoped for.
At launch, the new Porter’s website will have these features and improvements:
* The same web address – www.porters.com
* The option to “Create an Account”. Signing up for an account will offer some very nice tools for the member. Vview order history and instantly reorder, create ‘wish lists’ (plus they can be emailed to friends or relatives), write product reviews. There will be more features such as RSS feeds as the site grows.
* The easiest search possible. Search by mouse click through the easy category nav buttons, drill down to the exact product by price, brand, megapixels, color and more.
* Site search by Google. Search the new site with text using the powerful Google search feature.
* Lots of links to product detail PDF’s, videos and support materials.
* Easy access to our online chat feature on every page.
The next phases of development will include RSS feeds for products and newsletters – a very cool way to keep up with what is happening as products and availability change. Dedicated landing pages by camera brand – bookmark your brand’s landing page and get all the latest news and information without having to dig through unrelated stuff. There are a lot more enhancements planned and they will roll out as development continues.
With a good deal of confidence I’m sure that I’ll be announcing the roll out of the new website within two weeks. The first announcement will be here on the blog with an overnight email announcement going out that evening. Just as a heads up, if you have bookmarked www.porters.com it will not be affected by the change. However if you have bookmarked any of Porter’s internal pages those links won’t work any longer as the URL’s will change.
Mama’s Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be JPG’s
Mamas don’t let your babies
Grow up to be JPG’s
‘Cause when your drive crashes
It won’t hurt as much
If you’ve made ‘em into posters,
Enlargements and such.
Some favorites from my family album
My dog Raven as a pup:
10111010 10111011 10000110 10001011 00010010 11101011
My daughter’s graduation:
11110011 11010100 01001101 00010101 00101110 10100111
Christmas 2008:
01010110 0101101n 101j10z0 01101010 010—— ——–
(sorry the file must be corrupt)
I won $250 in a photo contest with this one. I think I captured a perfect sunset:
10100101 00101001 10100101 11110101 00011101 10100111
Yep, that’s what JPG’s look like. A collection of ones and zeros that a computer reads and reassembles into an image. Of course there are a lot more ones and zeros in an actual image file.
The point is, the file isn’t an actual image. It takes a computer’s processor to recreate the data into a picture. That is, if you can find the data. Or if it hasn’t been erased or become corrupt.
These strings of digits that make up an image file are kind of delicate. If too many of the digits are missing, erased or replaced by some other random character the image file won’t open ever again.
Take care of your files! Download from your memory cards ASAP. Memory cards are meant for temporary storage only. Back up you image files to not one, but two CD’s or DVD’s. Back up your hard drive to a removable drive periodically. And store that removable drive away from home! Why let one fire or flood destroy the original AND the backup?
The very best, safest and least expensive way to back up your images is to make a 4X6 photo print (NOT an inkjet print). You shoot thousands of images over a year’s time; all you need to do is print the few hundred that matter.
If you look back across the Blogs I write, through the dozens and dozens of classes I’ve lead, through the articles I’ve written or been quoted in, you’ll realize this message is consistent. I always say the same thing in the same way.
It’s that important.
It bears repeating often.
It is not just my crusade. It is the message of an entire industry that has protected and preserved your family memories for over 100 years.
Of course I hope you make your prints through Porter’s, it’s where I make a living. But the most important thing is that you get the message and make prints somewhere. Anywhere. Don’t be a part of the generation that lost its own history to a simple hard drive crash.
Using Photography to Support Your Kids’ School
by Laura Oles, author of Digital Photography for Busy Women
Like many parents, you invest time supporting your children’s school through volunteer work, fundraising, chaperoning field trips and other labors of love. Parental volunteers are a powerful and important part of helping educators give our kids the best possible experience in and out of the classroom. If you love taking pictures, you might consider using your hobby to contribute to your school’s efforts.
As the unofficial photographer for my kids’ classes, I enjoy the opportunity of shooting these events and sharing them with parents who were unable to attend due to work or schedule conflicts. Let’s face it—as involved as we are, we have many other work and personal roles and simply can’t be at every single event for every single child. Having someone take photographs of the class during a field trip can be a wonderful gift for those parents who were unable to attend. The images can also be used to help the school promote itself, its fundraising efforts or for other related purposes. In addition, the images can be used to create personalized teacher gifts at the end of the year.
Here are a few tips to turn your photography into both a gift for parents and a marketing tool for your school:
Personalize the Shot: Group shots are wonderful and necessary but make sure to take individual shots of each child if at all possible. Zoom in close to fill the frame with the child’s face and wait for that candid smile or impromptu interaction. These magical moments just require a bit of planning and patience. Ignore the bustle around you for a few seconds to see if you can portray the essence of what that child is experiencing.
Capture Interaction: Some of the best photos are those of children engaged in particular projects or working together. Even something as seemingly simple as sharing a lunch outdoors on a picnic table can translate into an extraordinary photograph. Look for kids who are enjoying a moment together and start snapping away.
Share & Upload: Once your event is over, make sure to upload your photos to your local photo store’s online website. It’s one of the easiest ways to share images and you can simply email a link to the album to all the parents and teachers involved. They can then order prints and other items from the photo store directly.
Get Permission: It is very important to get permission and to have a parent sign a standard model release anytime the child’s picture might be used for posters, flyers or other promotional item. There are standard model release forms that can be found online for your school to use. Some parents may prefer not to have their child included, and that’s okay. Your school’s office should already have these provisions in place, but if not, find the form and have copies made for each child in the class.
The next time you gear up for a field trip, make sure to take your camera (and accessories) and assign yourself the role of event photographer. It’s a chance to practice your hobby and an opportunity to give a gift to the kids and families all while supporting the school.
Picture Worthy
That was nice. A long weekend off is just the thing to recharge the batteries. I went back home to help with some painting projects and general home improvements.
You see, my daughter and her husband just bought a house. Though it is in great shape the previous owner had unique tastes in color schemes. And I’m being very generous with that statement. One room painted in black, another in three shades of red, the family room in stripes of sea foam green and pink.
I asked my daughter if she had a good set of before pictures of her project. She just kind of laughed and said that as bad as the house looked it just wasn’t picture worthy.
A couple of days later as I was driving back I thought of her comment and it struck me – how many times do we opt out of taking pictures because something doesn’t seem to be picture worthy? Then at a later date we wish we had at least a few shots to refer back to.
In the near term these two kids will have a very fresh memory of the fun-house colors their first home wore when they moved in. But years from now I think they will wish that they had some photos that recorded just how awful the place really looked. Kind of as a reminder of how far the house has come under their care.
As for myself, I think I’ll be a little less critical about what constitutes a picture worthy moment or subject. I believe I’ll capture a little more than I do now and let time sort out the wheat from the chaff.